200+ Products

Royal Canin recognizes that each cat and dog is an individual with unique nutritional needs. We are continuously investing in scientific research to remain at the forefront of nutritional knowledge and innovation.

The Science of Tailored Nutrition

Royal Canin recognizes that each cat and dog has nutritional needs as unique as their personalities. Fully supported by scientific research, our 200+ formulas are tailored to meet your pet’s precise nutritional requirements.

Caring for kittens – my vocation

Royal Canin Canada is Passionate for Pets! Scientific evidence shows the numerous benefits pets bring to our lives – to their owners and also to society as a whole. This blog post is part of a series that showcases the important role pets play in peoples’ lives by providing companionship and support, and enabling social connections.

I’ve always loved animals, which is probably how I came to be a full time vet tech during the day, and a caretaker for abandoned cats and kittens the rest of the time.

Oh, and my fiancé and I also are the human companions of a 3.5 year old Husky mix (Rocky) and three cats – Rambo (12 years),Barbier (a 7 year old tripod), and Panais (8 months). Our house is a very busy place!

I started rescuing cats and kittens about 6 years ago when the clinic where I work had two day-old kittens surrendered because their mother had died. I decided they should have a chance to find a good home, so I took them home and fed them every two hours until they were older and stronger. As more and more kittens were coming to the clinic – either boxes left on the front steps or from the city bringing us strays – I decided I wanted to try to make a difference by starting an abandoned cat and kitten rescue.

In 2012, I started a Facebook page in an effort to save even more kittens. I know that clinic staff have to make difficult decisions about euthanasia every day, and this is my chance to make a personal contribution to do what I can to save as many of these lovely creatures and find them loving homes.

Caring for these cats and kittens is more to me than just providing nourishment, vaccinations, microchips, sterilization and a roof over their heads. I take the time to get to know the personality of each one; I give them a name, I help socialize them and provide fun playtime games. This is important because it helps me make sure I place them in an appropriate home. I also make sure the adopting families understand the responsibility of their new pet and they are committed to having a new feline family member. I know all too well how many animals are surrendered, and I want to ensure the lifelong relationship of the cats and kittens in their new furever home.

I’ve learned a lot over the past six years. I’ve learned that I have to be an advocate for these animals when making recommendations to potential adopters to ensure they’ve got the right personality fit vs. the right colour. I’ve learned that balance is an important part of two aspects of this rescue: optimizing my tight resources to help as many animals as I can, and making time for my personal life. As you can imagine, this all can get very emotional; I’ve learned that I’m not in control of everything, and I need to accept that. I’ve learned that I can’t do everything alone, and I can rely on a veterinarian friend, the clinic and a number of foster families for support.

I can honestly say that I’m never bored or overwhelmed (see balance, above!). Every fall, I say it’s my last year doing this…then over the winter months (which last a long time in Quebec!), I get fewer surrendered cats and kittens and I miss them…so by spring I’m ready to jump into it all again when I start getting contacted about kittens!

Jacinthe is an animal health technician who loves the outdoors and running. She didn’t have many pets growing up, and is making up for lost time now.